Overview

BeeKeeper can write and print checks directly from your bank account. Each check you write automatically creates the matching journal entry, so your books stay balanced without any extra data entry — and every check keeps a complete audit history from creation through clearing.

You’ll need pre-printed check stock from your bank or a check supplier (the kind with your routing number, account number, and check numbers already printed). BeeKeeper prints the date, payee, amount, memo, and mailing address onto the stock.

Setting Up Check Printing

Check printing is enabled per bank account by an Admin or Bookkeeper:

1. Go to Bookkeeping and select the account
2. Click the Actions menu, then Check Settings
3. Click Edit Settings
4. Check Enable Check Printing
5. Choose your settings:
   • Check Layout: match your check stock — 3-up (3 checks per page) or Voucher (1 check + 2 stubs per page), the format used by most QuickBooks-compatible stock
   • Next Check Number: the number on the top sheet of your check stock
6. Click Save

Calibrating Your Printer

Every printer feeds paper slightly differently. Before printing real checks:

1. From Check Settings, click Print Calibration Page
2. Print it on plain paper at 100% (no scaling)
3. Hold the page against a blank check from your stock with the corners aligned
4. Each box marks where its field will print — if a box doesn’t sit on top of its pre-printed area, adjust the Horizontal Offset and Vertical Offset in Check Settings and reprint

Offsets are measured in points (1/72 inch). Positive values move the print right/down; negative values move it left/up.

Writing a Check

1. Go to Bookkeeping and select the account
2. Click Actions, then Checks to open your check register
3. Click Write Check
4. Fill in the check — a live preview updates as you type:
   • Pay to the order of: start typing to search your vendors, or enter any name. Selecting a vendor pre-fills the mailing address.
   • Date: defaults to today
   • Amount: type the total amount of the check
5. Choose a Category — the expense account this payment should be recorded against.
   • Need to split the payment across more than one account? Click Split across categories. Add a line for each account and enter its amount — a running total shows how much is left to allocate (or how far over you’ve gone). The lines must add up to the Amount you entered above; enter the total first, then split it however you like. Click Use one category instead to collapse back to a single category.
6. Need to add a memo, mailing address, or attach a receipt? Click More details to expand these optional fields:
   • Memo: optional note printed on the check
   • Mailing Address: optional — positioned to show through a standard #10 window envelope
   • Attachment: optional receipt or supporting document (PNG, JPG, or PDF)
7. Click Save

The check is saved as a Draft and the journal entry is created automatically: each category line is recorded against its expense account and the total against your bank account. Nothing prints yet — drafts can still be edited.

Writing or Printing a Check When Approving an Expense Report

You don’t have to visit the check register separately to pay out an approved expense report — you can write or queue the check right from the approval step.

Submitters now say how they’d like to be paid when they submit their report, so the approval screen pre-selects the matching option for you — you can still change it before approving.

1. Open the expense report and click Approve
2. Choose how you’d like to handle payment:
   • Approve only: marks the report approved; no check is created
   • Write a check: record a check you’ve already written by hand — choose the bank account and enter its check number
   • Print a check: queue a check to print later — choose the bank account. No check number is needed; one is assigned automatically when you print it. This option only appears for accounts with check printing enabled.
   • Pay with Zelle: if your organization has turned this on (see below), records the same balanced journal entry as writing a check, using the Zelle confirmation number you enter as the reference instead of a check number
3. Click Approve

If you chose Print a check, you’re taken straight to that account’s check register with the new draft ready to go — see Printing Checks below when you’re ready to print it. If the expense report was signed off, that check carries the report’s signatures automatically, so it doesn’t need its own review. See Electronic Sign-Off.

Pay with Zelle is a separate, opt-in payment method for organizations that reimburse volunteers by Zelle instead of (or alongside) paper checks. An admin turns it on under Settings > Update Settings > Expense Report Payment Methods by checking Zelle — it’s off by default. Once enabled, entering a confirmation number records it on the journal entry as “Zelle 123456” (rather than a bare number), so it’s never mistaken for a check in your register. See Expense Reports for the full approval workflow.

A note on Direct Payment to Vendor: if a report requested this method (also turned on under Settings > Update Settings > Expense Report Payment Methods), the check or Zelle payment goes out to the vendor’s name and address rather than the submitter’s — it’s the organization paying a merchant directly, not reimbursing a volunteer. See Reviewing & Approving Expense Reports for details.

Printing Checks

You can print one check or a whole batch at once:

1. From the check register, check the box next to each check to print
2. Click Print Selected
3. Confirm the Starting Check Number — the top sheet loaded in your printer should match this number; the rest are numbered in order
4. Load your check stock in the printer
5. Click Print Checks

A PDF opens in a new tab — print it from your browser at 100% (no scaling). Each check is assigned its number, marked Printed, and the check number is written onto the journal entry as its reference number.

Tip: you don’t have to remember to check the register — any draft or ready-to-print checks across your accounts also show up as an Action Item on your organization’s dashboard, so you always know at a glance when checks are waiting for the printer.

Check Statuses

Once a check is printed, you can’t change it with Edit anymore. You can still correct the payee, date, memo, and mailing address when you reprint it (see Reprinting a Check below). The amount on a printed check can’t be corrected. Voided and cleared checks are locked and can’t be changed at all — this protects your audit trail.

Reprinting a Check

If a check printed badly (smudged, misaligned) or something on it is wrong, you can print it again with the same number:

1. In the check register, click View next to the check to open its Check Details page
2. Click Reprint. A window titled Reprint Check, followed by the check number, opens
3. Correct anything that printed wrong: Pay to the order of, Date, Memo, or Mailing Address
4. Leave Void this check number and reissue with a new number unchecked
5. Optionally enter a Reason (recorded in the audit trail)
6. Click Reprint Check

The check keeps its number, and your corrections are saved to it and recorded in its Activity Log.

The amount can’t be corrected this way. To change the amount, void and reissue the check (see below), then change the amount on the new draft before you print it. A check that pays an expense report always carries the report’s amount.

Voiding and Reissuing

If a printed check is lost, damaged, or needs a new number:

1. Open the check and click Reprint
2. Correct anything that should be different on the new check: Pay to the order of, Date, Memo, or Mailing Address
3. Check Void this check number and reissue with a new number
4. Optionally enter a Reason and click Reprint Check

You’ll see “Check voided and a new draft was created for reissue.” The original check is voided (along with its journal entry), and you’re taken to the new draft. It has the same payee, amount, and categories, plus any corrections you made in step 2, and it’s ready to print with the next number. Only Admins can void and reissue.

The new draft is dated today. To change its date, payee, or mailing address, click Edit on its Check Details page. In the Edit Check window, Pay to the order of and Date are at the top. Click More details to see the Mailing Address.

The void-and-reissue box only appears when the check can still be voided.

Checks That Pay an Expense Report

Voiding and reissuing a check that pays an expense report doesn’t undo the approval:

• The expense report stays approved and moves to the new check, so nobody has to sign off again. If the report was signed off, the new check carries the same signatures.
• To pay someone else, change the payee on the new check with Edit. You don’t need to change the expense report.

If you’d rather send the expense report back for review, don’t reissue the check. Instead, an Admin voids the check’s transaction from the account ledger (see below).

Voiding a Check Without Reissuing It

To void a check entirely without reissuing it, void its transaction from the account ledger — the check is voided automatically along with it:

1. Go to Bookkeeping and select the bank account
2. Find the check’s transaction and click the three-dot menu on its row
3. Click Void, then confirm

For a check that pays an expense report, only Admins see Void. Voiding it also sends the expense report back to your queue so it can be approved or rejected again. See Reviewing & Approving Expense Reports.

If a Printer Jams

If the printer jams partway through a batch, get your check numbers back in sync with your physical stock:

1. Void and reissue any check whose printed sheet is unusable — open the check, click Reprint, check “Void this check number and reissue with a new number”, and print the fresh draft on the next good sheet (see Voiding and Reissuing above)
2. If you need to reset the Next Check Number so software numbering matches the next blank sheet in your printer, update it under Check Settings

If you’re unsure how to realign a batch, reach out to support and we’ll help you sort out the numbering.

Reconciliation

When you reconcile your bank statement and mark a printed check’s transaction as cleared, the check status updates to Cleared automatically, with the date recorded. See Bank Reconciliation for the full workflow.

Who Can Do What

Common Questions

What check stock should I buy? Standard pre-printed business check stock with your bank’s routing number, your account number, and sequential check numbers. Choose stock that matches your layout setting: 3-per-page, or voucher style (one check with two stubs). BeeKeeper does not print the bank routing/account line (MICR), so blank unprinted stock won’t work.

Why does the starting check number matter? Your stock is pre-numbered. BeeKeeper assigns numbers in software so they appear on the journal entry and in reports — the starting number tells it which physical sheet is on top so the two stay matched.

Can I edit a check after printing it? You can correct the payee, date, memo, and mailing address: open the check, click Reprint, make your corrections, and reprint it with the same number. The amount can’t be changed on a printed check. To change it, use void and reissue; the replacement draft is editable before you print it. Voided and cleared checks can’t be changed.

Does writing a check create the journal entry for me? Yes. The category (or split categories) you choose become the journal entry’s line items, and the amount you enter is credited against your bank account. When the check prints, its number becomes the entry’s reference number.

Can I split one check across several budget categories? Yes — click Split across categories when writing the check and enter an amount for each account. Enter the check’s total Amount first; the split lines must add up to that amount.

Can I write or print a check when I approve an expense report? Yes — the approval screen offers Write a check (record one you’ve already written by hand) or Print a check (queue it to print, with the number assigned automatically). It pre-selects whichever method the submitter requested, but you can change it. Choosing to print takes you straight to that account’s check register.

Can I record a Zelle payment instead of a check? Yes, once an admin turns on Zelle in Settings > Update Settings > Expense Report Payment Methods. It’s off by default. Once enabled, Pay with Zelle appears next to Write a check and Print a check on the approval screen, and submitters can request it too.

Why is a check made out to a vendor instead of the person who submitted the expense report? That report requested Direct Payment to Vendor — the organization is paying a merchant directly rather than reimbursing the submitter, so the check and journal entry name the vendor. See Reviewing & Approving Expense Reports.

The print is misaligned on my checks. Print a calibration page from Check Settings and adjust the horizontal/vertical offsets. Also make sure your browser’s print dialog is set to 100% scale with no “fit to page” option.

I don’t see the Checks option on my account. Check printing must be enabled in Check Settings for that account (Admin or Bookkeeper), and it’s only available on bank (asset) accounts.